Angels
The angels were created by God before the earth (Job 38:4-7). They are spirit creatures that live in heaven with God and sometimes deliver messages for Him (Matthew 1:18-21, Luke 1:11-20, 26-38). Angels are also commonly found in other religions and folklore. Views in the Abrahamic Faiths In Judaism In Jewish belief, angels are instruments of God. There are some important angels, and each of them has a job: *Michael, who carries out tasks of justice and power *Gabriel, carries out God's kindness *Raphael, carries out God's healing force *Uriel, leads humans to their destiny *Samael, the angel of death *Sandalphon, brings humans closer together and fights with Samael *Camael, punishes those who transgress against God, and expelled Adam and Eve from Eden *Satan, who brings people's sins before them in the Court of God *Metatron, the heavenly scribe who writes everything humans do In Christianity Christian and Jewish beliefs of angels are very similar. Some Christians believe that angels have no gender, because there is no need for them to reproduce. In Luke 22:43, an angel appeared to Jesus Christ near the time of His death, and comforted Him. In Islam In Islam, believing in angels is one of the Six Articles of Faith. The angel Gabriel also appeared to Muhammad in a cave where he was meditating. Muslims believe that angels are messengers of God, and that they have no free will, and can only do what God tells them to do. Some angels in Islam are: *Jibrail, known as Gabriel, who carries out God's kindness *Michael, angel of nature *Darda'il, angels that travel earth searching for groups that remember God's Name *Kiraman Katibin, two angels that record a human's good and bad deeds *Mu'aqqibat, a group of angels that keep people from death before their time *Malak Al-maut, angel of death *Munkar and Nakir, who question the dead in their graves *Israfil, angel who, on the Day of Judgement, will blow a trumpet *Ridwan, angel who looks after Paradise *Maalik, angel who guards hell In Baha'i Faith The Baha'i Faith teaches that angels are people who have consumed themselves with the fire of the love of God. They have also been described as the confirmations of God's celestial powers. Theological Angels This is a list of theological angels—some of these angels are myths, and the only two named angels in the Bible are Gabriel and Michael. *Adriel (Jewish/Christian) *Ariel (Jewish/Christian) *Azazel (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Azrael (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Barachiel (Christian) *Cassiel (Jewish/Christian) *Camael (Jewish/Christian) *Gabriel (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Gagiel (Jewish/Christian) *Hadraniel (Jewish/Christian) *Haniel (Jewish/Christian) *Jegudiel (Christian) *Jehoel (Jewish/Christian) *Jerahmeel (Jewish/Christian) *Jophiel (Jewish/Christian) *Juan (Christian) *Lailah (Jewish/Christian) *Metatron (Jewish/Christian) *Michael (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Muriel (Jewish/Christian) *Pahaliah (Christian) *Puriel (Jewish/Christian) *Raguel (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Raphael (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Raziel (Jewish/Christian) *Sachiel (Jewish/Christian) *Sandalphon (Jewish/Christian) *Sariel (Jewish/Christian/Muslim) *Selaphiel (Christian) *Seraphiel (Jewish/Christian) *Tzaphqiel (Jewish/Christian) *Uriel (Jewish/Christian) *Zadkiel (Jewish/Christian) *Zerachiel (Christian) Guardian Angels There are some passages in the Bible that suggest God has appointed an angel over everyone. Among these are 1 Kings 19:4-8, which tells how the prophet Elijah asked God to kill him, but an angel came and comforted him and gave him food. Psalm 91:11 says that angels keep humans in all their ways. Daniel 10:13 proposes that each country has its own angel. In Matthew 18:10, Jesus said how the children's angels always see God's Face in heaven. Acts 12:3-19 tells the story of how Peter was rescued by God through the act of angel. Hebrews 1:14 suggests that a guardian angel's job is to lead man to salvation. The Book of Enoch, which is canon in the Ethiopiano Orthodox Tewahedo Church, has a verse that says that angels will guard the righteous, as appointed by God, while the wicked are destroyed. Gender In the Bible, angels are usually regarded as males, contrary to popular art which displays angels as women. However, the idea of female angels is also present in the Bible (Zechariah 5:9). Some people, however, think that angels have no gender at all, because there is no need for more angels, therefore they cannot reproduce. General Sources Holy Bible, general source Bible Gateway general source Angel (Wikipedia) general source List of theological angels (Wikipedia) Theological Angels Guardian angel (Wikipedia) Guardian Angels Libersation of Saint Peter (Wikipedia) Guardian Angels Category:Articles